I Remember You (2 page)

Samantha pulled up to her house and parked the car in the driveway before heading inside. Her mom was already in bed, but there was a note on the kitchen table that Lance had called and he wanted her to call him back. She glanced at the clock. It was almost 10, but she didn’t care. She wanted to say goodnight to him, to hear his voice before she fell asleep for the night.

She grabbed the cordless phone from the counter and headed for her room. She dialed his number with shaky fingers. Even after all this time, she still had butterflies when she was about to talk to him.

“Hello?” He answered on the second ring and her breath caught in her throat when she heard his voice.

“Hey you,” she said softly, settling back on her bed. The deep sound of his voice always soothed her.

“How was coffee with Renee?” He asked.

“Good. What did you do after you left here?”

There was silence on the other end of the phone. “Hello?” She sat up on the bed. Something seemed wrong.

“Sorry, thought I heard my mom say something, but it was nothing,” he paused. “I came home and watched TV with Mom.”

“Oh, sounds exciting,” she mumbled. Something in his voice wasn’t right. Maybe he was just tired. “Are you ok?”

He took a deep breath. “Yeah. Just tired. What are you doing tomorrow night?”

Yep, tired
. She relaxed and smiled into the phone. “Something with you.”

He laughed softly and a shiver ran through her as she pictured his sexy crooked smile. “Yes. Wanna come over after dinner?”

“I’ll be there,” she replied quickly with a grin. She’d spend every waking moment with him if she could.

“Good. I’ll see you then. Sweet dreams. Oh, and hey Samantha?”

“Yes, Lance?” She held her breath.

“I love you...Always,” he almost whispered, his voice thick with emotion.

Her heart skipped a beat at his words. What brought this on? “I love you too, Lance. Good night.”

She hung up and sighed, setting the phone on the nightstand by her bed. She changed into her pajamas and went to her bathroom to wash her face, but she couldn’t stop thinking about her conversation with Lance. Something seemed off even though he said he was just tired. He couldn’t be upset with her for not sleeping with him, could he? She hoped not. Despite his constant requests for sex, she never thought it would be something he’d break up with her over.

Suddenly she was anxious to see him tomorrow night and make sure everything was ok between them.

***

Lance couldn’t sit still as he waited for Samantha. He would sit for a minute on the couch, only to get up to straighten something on the coffee table and then move over to the chair. His mom was gone, so he and Samantha would have the place to themselves. Normally, all he would think about was touching her and kissing her when he got her alone, but tonight, he had other plans.

He had talked to Nicole earlier that evening on the phone. Lance figured it was safer to do it that way in case he lost his temper with her again.

“Are you sure you’re pregnant?” He’d asked her, still not wanting to believe it.

“Yes, Lance, I’m sure. I’ve taken five home pregnancy tests. I go see the doctor next week,” she spit back at him.

“And it’s mine? There was no one else while we were together?” He thought it was a fair question. Nicole had a reputation and he’d heard from more than one person he wasn’t the only one she’d slept with during the time they’d been together.

“Asshole!” She had screamed into the phone before hanging up on him.

“Bitch,” he’d muttered as he hung up the phone. Did he tell Samantha or wait until he knew for sure the baby was his? He rubbed his hands on his jeans. He had to tell her now what was going on or she’d never forgive him. He’d told Samantha he’d sex with Nicole while they were apart and while she didn’t like it, she had accepted it. He wasn’t so sure she’d accept this though.

Lance ran his shaking hands through his shaggy dark hair. He’d go downstairs to play his guitar; that always calmed his nerves. He taped a note on the door for Samantha to let her know to come on in when she arrived as he was downstairs. She wouldn’t be surprised to find him down there. They often spent hours in his basement with him playing music for her. He loved the looks of pure love and adoration she gave him when he was playing his guitar. It made him feel like a rock star.

Lance went to the basement and picked up his guitar. He closed his eyes and started strumming the chords to the song he was writing for Samantha. He’d been working on it for some time now, trying to get it perfect. When he finished, he heard soft clapping. He opened his eyes and there she was, looking at him with those big green eyes that melted him every time. He had to fight the urge to cry, to go to her and wrap her up in his arms and never let her go. He couldn’t lose her

“Hey there. I didn’t hear you come in,” he said, as he put down his guitar while she walked over to him.

“You were pretty lost in that song. What was it? I don’t think I recognize it.” She wrapped her arms around his waist and looked up at him. Those plump lips of hers looked so inviting. He leaned down and kissed her softly. Her arms snaked up around his neck, her fingers playing with the hair at the nape of his neck, while she pressed her soft body into his. He felt himself get instantly hard as he held her against him.

His kiss started out tender, his tongue gently teasing hers. It grew more insistent as he thought about the possibility of losing her. He moved his hands down along her back, sliding them down to cup her firm ass and pressing her hard against him.

She finally broke away panting, her eyes glassy with lust as she looked up at him. “Whoa...What a greeting,” she whispered.

He was breathless as he looked back down at her. Suddenly he was consumed with how much he loved her; how much he wanted and needed her. He put an arm around her waist, pulling her against him again and cupped her face with his other hand. “I want you, Samantha. I need you.” His mouth covered hers again, crushing her lips with his. He buried his hands in her hair, holding her still so he could kiss her.

She pulled away and stumbled back a bit. “Lance, stop!” She moved away from him, her eyes wide. “Please slow down.”

His heart dropped. Did he scare her? He took a deep breath to calm himself.

“What’s wrong with you tonight?” She asked him, her eyes filling with tears. “And you were weird on the phone last night. What’s up, Lance? What’s wrong?”

He sighed and walked over to her. “I’m sorry; I didn’t mean to scare you.” He took her hand and led her over to the couch to sit down. “Samantha, we need to talk. There’s something I have to tell you.”

He ran his thumb over the back of her hand as he worked up the courage to tell her about Nicole’s pregnancy. He blew out his breath and decided to just say it. “Remember that time we were apart for a few months?”

She rolled her eyes and smiled wryly. “Which time?

He couldn’t help but smile a little. “Yeah. Well, anyway, the time when I dated someone else for a bit.”

“Nicole?” She said guardedly. He could see her body visibly get stiff next to him on the couch.

He nodded and she pulled her hand from his, sitting back on the couch. “What about her? You told me that was over and you never wanted to see her again.” She folded her arms over her chest, her eyes narrowing at him.

Lance nodded. “I did. And I hadn’t seen her since the day I told her that.” He chewed his lower lip. “Until yesterday. She was here when I got back from your house.”

“Why?” She had uncrossed her arms, her hands balled into fists at her sides.

“She said she had to tell me something.” He stood up and began walking around the basement. “You know I had sex with her while we dated?” He asked but he couldn’t even pause to look at her. He didn’t want to see her reaction. “And she told me she was on the pill-”

“She’s pregnant, isn’t she?” She muttered, choking back a sob.

Lance stopped walking and looked down at her. “That’s what she claims,” he said softly.

“What the fuck, Lance?” Samantha flew up off of the couch. “You’ve got to be fucking kidding me!” A sob escaped her lips. “Things have finally been good between us.” A tear slid down her cheek. “I was even going to have sex with you tonight,” she whispered.

Lance’s shoulders dropped. He’d messed this up big time. He went over to Samantha and wrapped his arms around her waist. “This doesn’t change anything. I still love you, Samantha.”

She rested her head on his chest for a minute, sniffling. All of a sudden she pulled her arms up and pushed him away hard. “But this changes everything. You’re going to be a father.” She shook her head. “I can’t deal with this right now.” She grabbed her purse from the floor and walked to the stairs. She turned and looked at him, her eyes cold and distant. “Don’t follow me Lance or I’ll
never
speak to you again!” She ran up the stairs and he thought he heard a sob come from her before she slammed the door behind her.

Lance slumped back down on the couch defeated, his eyes filling with tears. He felt like his heart had been ripped out of his chest. What if Samantha never talked to him again?

***

Samantha drove home in a blinding rage. She couldn’t believe it! That asshole. She knew he’d slept with Nicole when they had been apart, but now she was pregnant? Samantha wasn’t so sure she could handle that.

She got home and went straight to bed, telling her mom she was tired and had a headache. She told her if anyone called, even Lance, tell them she’d call them back tomorrow.

She put on her pajamas and climbed under her covers. She finally let the tears flow she’d been holding back since Lance told her the news. She sobbed into her pillow so her mom wouldn’t hear her as she thought about what Lance had told her earlier. Only when she fell asleep, exhausted from her tears, did she finally escape the pain she felt.

Samantha spent the next few days almost like a zombie. She told Renee and her other friends that she and Lance had broken up. She didn’t give them a reason. She couldn’t bring herself to say out loud he’d gotten another girl pregnant.

Lance had tried to call her a few times but she always refused to talk to him. Her mom finally told him to quit calling and bothering her. She wasn’t ready to talk to him. She wasn’t sure if she ever would be.

Renee had convinced her to go to the basketball game Friday night so she could get out of the house. Samantha reluctantly agreed; maybe it would help her stop thinking about Lance. She ended up having a good time at the game. Their school was undefeated and played another school with a winning record. The game was exciting, but Samantha was exhausted from sleepless nights all week and decided to head home after instead of going out for pizza with the rest of her friends.

She parked her car in the driveway, feeling better than she had in days. She got out of the car and walked towards the door when she heard his deep voice behind her.

“Hello Samantha.”

She jumped and almost screamed in surprise. She turned around and there stood Lance in the middle of her driveway.

“What are you doing here, Lance?” She asked as she clutched her purse tightly in her hands.

“I knew you wouldn’t take my calls and this would be the only way you’d talk to me.” He took a step towards her. “I miss you, Samantha,” he whispered, reaching for her.

She shook her head, biting her lip. “Don’t, Lance.” She wanted to throw herself into his arms and forget this whole mess, but she couldn’t. She couldn’t let him sweet-talk her into not being angry anymore.

“I do, Sam. I miss you. I can’t eat. I can’t sleep. I can’t even play guitar,” he said as his voice broke. He walked closer to her and she could see by the dark circles under his eyes he probably hadn’t been sleeping much either.
He might as well get used to it with a baby on the way.
She shook her head at the thought.

“Samantha, can’t you give us a chance? What if the baby isn’t mine? I’ve heard from a few guys I wasn’t the only one she’d been with during that time.” She could hear the desperation in his voice, but it didn’t do much to soothe her.

Samantha sighed and shook her head. “Lance, I can’t do this. I can’t sit and wait.” Her voice started to break despite her resolve. “I love you. I do. So much it hurts. But I’m 17 years old. I should be going out with my friends and worrying about college next and having fun. I don’t need a family already. And you’ll have your hands full. You won’t have time for us.” She didn’t have the heart to tell him she also couldn’t deal with Nicole in their lives forever either.

His eyes filled with tears. “But I love you. You’re my whole world. You’re my everything. Without you, nothing matters.”

Samantha choked back a sob. “I know, Lance. I’m so sorry.”

He enveloped her in his arms and this time she let him. She needed to one last time. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, committing the feel of his arms and his smell to memory. She never wanted to forget the way this felt.

She finally pulled away and looked up at him. Tears were streaming down his face and for a split second she almost threw herself back into his arms. She reached up with a trembling hand and wiped his cheek. He grabbed her hand in his and held it against his face.